What was your first glider?

On Aug 18, 8:52*pm, flgliderpilot wrote:
Out of curiosity, I searched but found no similar thread...

So what was your first glider, how did you find it, how long did you
fly it, did you keep it or quickly out grow it? *Would love to hear
your stories...

First ship was Sisu 1a, s/n 101: www.eaglebrandproducts.com/N6390X/ .
Loved it dearly, but could not resist the SZD-59 (also a s/n 1... well-
B2157, but it was the first production model...) I found so I put it
up for sale to help pay off the 59. Never thought I would be selling
it to AIG! :O Naturally I bought it back and will someday fix it.
The Acro rocks though and I'm still on my honeymoon 2yrs into it. Tony
is dead on about falling in love with a glider

-Paul

On Aug 19, 1:52*pm, flgliderpilot wrote:
Out of curiosity, I searched but found no similar thread...

So what was your first glider, how did you find it, how long did you
fly it, did you keep it or quickly out grow it? *Would love to hear
your stories...

I bought an LS1-f. I haven't done big distances yet. It's a nice
machine and I love it
I think it's a very affordable machine that offers good performance,
and the some fun as more expensive ones.

On Aug 18, 8:52*pm, flgliderpilot wrote:
Out of curiosity, I searched but found no similar thread...

So what was your first glider, how did you find it, how long did you
fly it, did you keep it or quickly out grow it? *Would love to hear
your stories...

My first glider was a Ka6-CR first imported into this country by Rudy
Opitz who, as many of you know, was a test pilot for the Germans
during WWII. I did a couple 300km FAI triangles with the ka6. Then I
bought a Standard Cirrus N3450G which belonged to Roy Mcmasters. At
one time it held the World Out and Return record of 807 statute miles.
I have done a couple 500km triangles with it and it is the current
holder of the Oklahoma Out and Return Record of 240 nautical miles. I
love my Standard Cirrus!

At 02:50 20 August 2009, ryanglover1969 wrote:
On Aug 18, 8:52=A0pm, flgliderpilot wrote:
Out of curiosity, I searched but found no similar thread...

So what was your first glider, how did you find it, how long did you
fly it, did you keep it or quickly out grow it? =A0Would love to hear
your stories...

My first glider was a Ka6-CR first imported into this country by Rudy
Opitz who, as many of you know, was a test pilot for the Germans
during WWII. I did a couple 300km FAI triangles with the ka6. Then I
bought a Standard Cirrus N3450G which belonged to Roy Mcmasters. At
one time it held the World Out and Return record of 807 statute miles.
I have done a couple 500km triangles with it and it is the current
holder of the Oklahoma Out and Return Record of 240 nautical miles. I
love my Standard Cirrus!


Mine was a Slingsby Dart 15/17 MK II B, Works #1471, built in
Kirbymooreside, Yorkshire, England in April 1965 (how's that for a
description!). It was originally made for Phillip Wills (so the logbook
says) and has a unique paint scheme unlike any other Darts. From research
I've done it appears to be the only 15 mtr Dart ever made with wingtip
extensions to make it 17 mtrs. It somehow found its way to Colorado and
was owned by John Brittingham. Then it came to South Carolina in the
early 70's. A good freind of mine, Mike Hoke, bought it and flew it out
of Bermuda High Soaring in Chester, SC. He let me fly it on numerous
occasions and I got my Silver Distance in the Dart, in 1975. In 1976 Mike
and I both moved to Reno, NV (working for the same company). From 1977 to
1979 Mike and I flew Sports Class competitions as a team where we won
twice and placed 2nd on another occasion. In 1980 I bought the Dart from
Mike when he purchased a Diamant HBV (a great glider that I had the
priviledge to fly). I kept the Dart until 1984 when I got a Ventus B (and
then a Ventus C in 1995). From 1977 to 1984, I was fortunate enough to win
numerous Sports Class competitions in the Dart. To make a long story
longer, Mike and his wife Janice bought the Dart again in the late 80's
and they still have it. I still get to fly it once or twice a year and it
is a great handling plane! It has been refinished in the original paint
scheme and has modern GPS/Flight recorder instrumentation, radio, xpndr
and oxygen. Mike's twin boys have flown it cross-country and in
competition. If anyone would like to see a photo of this beautiful
machine, send an email to me with "Dart Photo" in the subject field and
I'll email the picture back to you.

Jimmy Hamilton
JLH
Reno, NV

Great stories guys keep them coming! Thanks so much... enjoying the
thread.

-tom

My first glider was a Schleicher ASK-14. Saw the ad in Soaring
magazine a few days after having a dream in which I was flying a
motorglider. The area code where the glider was for sale was 207, I
thought that's great, I live in Washington State and my area code is
206, gotta be close............in fact it was in Maine, about as far
from Seattle as possible. So the wife and I loaded up the Toyota 4x4
hang glider rig, and drove across the states to get it.

For 10K I thought it was a steal. I bought it while a student pilot.
When I finally sold it years later I had put 600 hours on the
airframe, about 100 on the engine and learned a ton about cross
country flying. She was a great bird, kept it rigged in a T hangar at
a local airport 20 minutes from work and used up a lot of sick leave
and vacation time flying it!

Brad

PS.............the picture of the ASK-14 in the soaring directory was
mine, taken at Ephrata years ago.

Fist and only glider to date is an LAK-12. The glider was imported
into Botswana in 1996 and had only about 50hrs when I bought it in
2003 - it had been in storage from 1997 as the club had folded. Was
interesting buying a glider at a border post in Africa and then
getting it across the border - had lots of spare cash in my pocket for
bribes but all the customs official wanted was a coke - so $1 later I
was heading on the long road home with my glider in tow. Its
instrumentation and radio had been upgraded and an eds oxygen system
was included. i have just added a pda (first a Palm with Soaringpilot
and now an IPAQ with Winpilot) system but am now looking to fit
winglets and an extra 1/2m of wing. 21.5m is looking a little short
and 21m has a nice ring to it.

Done my 300 and 500km flights in it so far - attempted a 750 but
turned short and did 630km. Had a few landouts which result in lots of
moans when the huge wings (they are one piece) have to be carried
across the soft ploughed cornfields - but seem to be landing out less.
Think the climb optomiser in Winpilot may be helping there. Its a
lovely glider with a handicap almost the same as an ASW-20 in the
Soaring Society of South Africa handicap system (varies slightly with
the weak, intermediate and strong day ratings - with me carrying a
heavier handycap on a weak day and less handicap in a strong day). I
fly in the Club Class where water is not carried. I find I can out-
climb ASW20s yet loose ground in the cruises especially when the speed
is over 160km/h. So I tent to fly a little differently and use a
slower inte-thermal cruise speed and make up time on the climbs - and
hopefully somewhere can miss a climb due to the higher glide-ratio
(1:47).

Certainly not planning to change gliders soon eventhough I have
already owned her for 6yrs. She is a glider that I am continuing to
grow into especially in the competition flying arena.

Clinton Birch

don't get me started )
something like 50 (+/- ?) over the years..first one I ever bought for myself
was a TG3.. but it turned oiut to be too far gone (rotted spars) so never
flew that one...but alas, I only have shares in 3 gliders today )
tim
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com


"flgliderpilot" wrote in message
...

Out of curiosity, I searched but found no similar thread...

So what was your first glider, how did you find it, how long did you
fly it, did you keep it or quickly out grow it? Would love to hear
your stories...

My first privately owned (non club)glider was a Phoebus B N770SY. Bought it
from an estate through Tom Smith in Clinton NY in 1978. Nice floater, huge
all flying elevator with a lead ball on a stick for a mass balance. PITA
non hinged removable canopy. If you looked real close you would see holes
drilled into the bead ring of the main gear . . .because they used
motorcycle front wheels with the spokes removed in the days before Tost.

Roy B.



Out of curiosity, I searched but found no similar thread...

So what was your first glider, how did you find it, how long did you
fly it, did you keep it or quickly out grow it? Would love to hear
your stories...

flgliderpilot wrote:
Out of curiosity, I searched but found no similar thread...

So what was your first glider, how did you find it, how long did you
fly it, did you keep it or quickly out grow it? Would love to hear
your stories...

Schweizer 1-26. Built by my instructor...& I didn't even know he owned a
glider until a few days after obtaining my ticket. A work buddy and I
had concurrently taken lessons from the same instructor, and maybe a
week after obtaining our tickets, fellow newbie suggested to me we begin
looking for a 1-26 (which I then had maybe 10 fights in, and fewer
hours). After being reassured permission from no one else need be
obtained (!), clueless (in my case) searching began. After some
preliminary looking, my fellow newbie said, "Let's look at Tom's 1-26;
maybe he'll sell us thirds." He did. About two weeks later - trying
anxiously to prepare myself for our first fun contest (COSA Fall
Roundup, for those who know of it), seeking nothing more than to
convince myself: 1) thermals existed out of range of the home airport,
and 2) I could get back home from one thermal away, I landed out in it
(one thermal away...followed by a new airmass!). The next weekend Tom
landed out in it. Both were our initial OFL's.

I might still be flying it had I not moved 'out west' and got desirous
of longer air legs. Been flying "flapped 1-26's" ever since (1975):
C-70, HP-14, Zuni I (since 1981).

Bob W.